Sunderland man fell into crime after dad allegedly had affair with his partner
A Sunderland man fell heavily into crime after being left on his uppers after his dad allegedly had an affair with his partner, a court heard.
Jordan Conlin, 30, had nowhere to live after he split from the woman and fell out with his father – and his relationship with his mum was also rocky.
The fall in fortunes set Conlin, of Roker Avenue, Roker, off on an offending spree in which he committed 13 offences between Saturday, August 23, and Friday, October 31.
There were seven shop thefts, three non-dwelling burglaries and one each of attempted non-dwelling burglary, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
The burglaries all relate to him stealing or attempting to steal from the rear of Asda’s store in Leechmere Road, Grangetown – by fleeing after running up and grabbing goods.
He took stock from Asda, valued at over £1,000, which included alcohol and razor blades, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court was told.
Conlin also committed one theft against the same outlet, swiping two bottles of gin valued in total at £19, and two against Tesco at its store in Fulwell.
He also pinched from Tesco’s store at the city centre Bridges shopping outlet, and Boots at the same location, taking £75 of perfume and Red Bull drink.
And the offender also made off with a £320 vacuum from Sainsbury's, in Silksworth, and alcohol from One Stop’s branch at Roker.
On Thursday, October 16, he was also caught driving a Renault Clio in Ryhope Street South, Ryhope Colliery, without insurance and without a licence.
Conlin pleaded guilty to all offences, with the value of goods taken from his thefts and burglaries being £2,733.
Prosecutor Marcus Blakelock said: “He was found to be driving with an expired provisional licence and checks also showed no insurance either.
“His record is very limited, with two convictions going back to 2020 and they are unrelated. Some of these offences were committed while on police bail.”
Ian Cassidy, defending, said: “Two or three other persons were involved in a couple of these offences.
“In one crime there were three others involved, and in another, two.
“What he explains to me is that four months ago, he became homeless and estranged from his dad.
“He had been living with his partner for some time and had been working since 2019 at weekends and staying out of trouble.
“There came a point where his partner had an affair with his dad. He has two sons, who were living with his mother, but he doesn’t see his mother now.
“It wasn’t drugs or alcohol, it was just money. These were incidents of him going in the back of Asda and grabbing items and running out.
“I would say in terms of planning, it’s low-level. I’m sure there will be concerns about the number of offences. He’s gone from nothing to a huge amount.”
District Judge Zoe Passfield sentenced Conlin to an 18-month community order, with 20 rehabilitation days.
She also ordered him to pay compensation totalling £475 and imposed six penalty points on his driving licence.